Category: Vital processes – professional practice – BAPH104

For our first small, class based exhibition we decided that we would use our elemental intervention module to create an exhibition around. This meant that we could focus on the curating side of the exhibition as we knew that all of our images would have a common link to each other and we only had a week to prepare for this.

When deciding how we would like to present our images, the obvious option was to arrange them on the wall. However, we were all against this idea as we wanted this exhibition to unique and something that viewers could really interact with. In the end we decided to utilise the table in our lecture room to display the images under a sheet of glass. There were a number of reasons why we did this. The table is made from wood which we consider ‘one of the elements’ so it felt like it had a real connection to the images/ who ethos of the exhibition (we were going to use a white sheet under the images so that we could stand out but after some experimenting, the wooden table seemed to suit the series of images better). As well as this, the table is on wheels in the centre of the room which means that it can be moved around and people can move around it, so from wherever they are they can put their focus on one particular image at a time but also see the other images from a different perspective.

As a whole, I think this exhibition went really well. We all worked well as a team and voiced our opinions and ideas to come up with a unique idea. We managed our time and resources well, remembering to thoroughly clean the table and have the images printed professionally to keep the aesthetic at a high standard. This experience has meant that I now feel far more confident about curating an exhibition in the future and this is something I would definitiely like to be involved in again.

Tristan Adams is a Photographer from Torquay, Devon. His work is varied and includes weddings, events, pet portraits and promotional videos. The camera he uses is the Nikon D750.

My day of work experience with him was a location shoot for a portrait for his catalogue of work. We had a model already lined up and headed to Torquay beach. I was there to set up his equipment, ensure that spare batteries/ memory cards were available and adjust the models hair, position or clothing if necessary. He also gave me the opportunity to make some images myself, which was a valuable experience as he could guide me through how he would do it but also encourage me on what I was doing.

This work experience has inspired me to experiment in more fashion/ portrait/ location shoots and not just stick to what I think is ‘my type of photography’. Tristan was extremely friendly and patient with me, as I don’t have much experience of professional shoots. He was also very respectful of the model, who he had previously discussed the shoot with and they collaborated together to create their vision. He is very driven and hard working, always looking for new opportunities within Photography and Videography. Although, he mainly works alone, he is open to collaborations and works as a valuable part of a team when necessary. I found the whole day extremely interesting and even though it was only a few hours I think I learnt a lot.

Espen Rasmussen is a Documentary photography, based in Norway. He is also a photo editor for VG helg (the weekend magazine of VG newspaper). His work focuses on current humanitarian crisis’ and climate change. He may be best known for his body of work titled ‘The flight to europe 2015’ which documents some of the 12 millions people who have fled war and suffering in Syria. Espen travelled the route that many migrants are taking (from Greece, through the Balkans and arriving in Germany). “There was shelling every day in our neighborhood,” Qassem said. “I waited until I could find secure passage for us. We’re apprehensive about life in Jordan but we had to leave. I carried my two daughters for a mile through the mud to get to the border.”

Samir Nazal (24) are preparing for his own wedding. In one of the tents in the House in Meraar refugee camp in the Zahle province in Lebanon, a young man has started up as a hairdresser.

I really appreciate how Rasmussen captured this image. I think that this is an important fact to bring to the publics attention, that even though these refugee camps are designed to be temporary, life still has to go on. For their own sanity, there has to be some level of normality. Rasmussen has made Samir having his haircut, the focus of attention in this image.He has however, taken this image from an angle which shows another man in the background preparing a drink on a sofa. I feel like you can tell a lot about how he is feeling, sadness and vulnerability. As well as this, I think this image also shows how strong the community is as it has quite quickly built a business. Hair salons are a place where people can talk or simply have their hair done, giving people an opportunity to get their troubles off their chest or have a moment of quiet in what is a very hectic, stressful situation.

Wedding in the Housein Meraar refugee camp in Lebanon. The friends of 24-year old Samir is dancing and singing together groom before they travel to a camp near by to pick up his coming wife.

I think this image reiterates my previous statement that the refugees are keeping a level of normality to their lives. These people are celebrating with the groom in a traditional way. For a moment, they are happy and rejoicing. Rasmussen captured this perfectly in my opinion, with the ladies hands clapping in the foreground, people smiling and supporting each other and the traditional towel as the focus in the centre of the image.

A boat has stopped some meters from land and Syrian refugees swim to get to safety on the Greek island Lesvos. The inflatable boats starts in the area around Izmir in Turkey and use between one and two hours to get to the European side.

In comparison to the previous two images, this one has a theme of struggle, chaos, uncertainty and fear. Using a faster shutter speed, Rasmussen has captured the waves and splashes created by the sea and the tone of the image suggests the water is very cold. I also think this image shows the strength of the refugees, battling to get to safer land. It is almost like a scene from a movie, but sadly this is reality. You can see children in this image too, and families determined to keep them safe.

When looking at Espen Rasmussen, all of his work has a theme of humanitarian crisis’. His work is very real and shows the harsh truth of what is happening in the world. I really appreciate what he is doing with his work (and this is something I would love to do in the future too), spreading awareness. It shows varying themes of peace, chaos, tragedy and rebuilding. I have learnt a lot looking at Rasmussen’s work. For example, how perspective and composition help a great deal in telling a story through an image. This is something I am going to take forward with my work, to ensure my aims come across in my images.

Dominic Pote is a fine art photographer who ‘paints with light’. Sue Hubbard describes him to use the equipment of a photographer but ‘his eye is that of an expressionist painter and his sensibility one of a poet’.

Interview –

What technology/software/camera equipment do you use?

I use an old 1960s Mamiya Press camera which has been custom adapted with a motor and a gearbox. It’s fairly heavy but achieves the results I want.

What other technologies do you use while out on a shoot?

I use a scanner once the films are processed and then my final, selected negatives are sent away to be drum-scanned so that I get the best quality resolution.

What is your favourite time of day to go out on a shoot?

Sunrise and sunset, when the sun is lowest in the sky and I get the most interesting light.

What is your favourite type of photography?

I guess I have to say landscape, but anything which is revealing and out of the ordinary appeals to me too, photography which reveals beauty and creativity.

Who or what is your inspiration?

Painting when I was younger, travel, journeys, experiences. Impressionist painters.

Which photographers/ artistic practitioners influenced you? and how?

I was influenced by many painters such as the impressionists and others. I was influenced by artists such as Andy Goldsworthy who attempt to interact directly with the landscape. I was influenced by the German school of photography (Bechers, Gursky, Struth and Ruff) in the sense that studying their work made me want to work in a very different way – much more aesthetic and less focussed on concepts. Perhaps I wanted to show reality not just how it is, but how it feels. These German practitioners wanted to be objective and not to show the presence of the photographer. I wanted to show how it was to be in a place, walking through with a camera. I wanted to reveal the place of the human in the landscape. So that’s how I developed my work.

When did you become interested in photography/ when did you become a photographer?

I graduated in 2000 but was keen on photography for many years before.

Did you do a degree or are you self taught?

Both.

Do you have any advice for a photographer starting out?

Be determined, persevere, try to always develop your own work, not just what others want. It’s incredibly competitive so you have to be strong minded, but I think if your heart is in it, you can make it!

Do you have any photography projects that you are doing at the moment? If so what is it about?

At the moment I am taking some time out to move house and generally make some changes in life/work. I hope that in a few months I will get back to my work again!